History Crash Course #37: Bar Kochba Revolt

Despite the disastrous results of the Great Revolt, the Jews revolt yet again.

The Temple was no more. Jerusalem had been conquered. Rome had asserted its might and crushed the Great Revolt of the Jews. Now there could be quiet.

Hardly.

Virulent anti-Semitism continued unabated in the Roman Empire, generated by the Hellenists who, not happy to leave well enough alone, seemed determined to pour salt onto Jewish wounds.

(This same need for overkill would be exhibited by later enemies of the Jews, who, having exterminated entire Jewish communities, and having no more Jews left to slaughter, would then go on to desecrate Jewish cemeteries and mutilate Jewish corpses.)

The level of hostility and mistreatment of the Jews escalated throughout the Roman Empire to the extent of becoming unbearable.

In response, the Jews revolted several times more. Each time thousands of their number were killed. As a result, the average Roman looked at every Jew as a person hostile to Rome. Jews were officially designated as having "enemy status" ― dediticci in Latin.

Of course, the Jews in the Land of Israel had been crushed in the Great Revolt, and ― at least, right after the destruction of the Temple ― did not have the strength to fight. But we must remember that at this time, a considerable number of Jews were living outside Israel. In fact, historians estimate that there were about 5-7 million Jews living in the Roman Empire and at least 60% of that number were living outside the land of Israel. Places like Alexandria, Egypt (one of the most cosmopolitan cities of that era) alone had a Jewish population of about 250,000 and boasted the largest synagogue in the world.

The War of Kittos

In 114 C.E. the emperor Trajan embarked on military a campaign to crush the Parthian (Persian Empire) in the east (today Iraq and Iran) After initial successes, Trajan's legions suffered a series of defeats and he was forced to retreat (he died while on this campaign in 117). The Jews of the Parthian Empire fought side by side with their Persian allies and embarked on a series of behind-the-lines guerrilla actions. It is also possible that several Jewish Diaspora communities within the Roman Empire also rose up in revolt.

The Roman response, with the help of anti-Semites of the region, was to slaughter the Jews. Several major Jewish communities in the Diaspora; in Cyprus, Libya, Alexandria and Mesopotamia were decimated. This slaughter, is known as The War of Kittos after the Roman military governor of Judea, Lucious Quietus, who brutally persecuted the Jewish population of Israel. (1)

Now it must be noted that while the Romans could be absolutely vicious and brutal in the heat of battle, they did not embark on any kind of policy to mass exterminate the Jewish people. At the time, it wasn't seen as in the Roman interest to attempt a total massacre of the Jews. It would not have sat well with other conquered peoples, who might think they were next and who might rebel. The Romans were very practical people and this is not something they wanted.

Hadrian

When Publius Aelius Hadrianus, known to us as Hadrian, took the reigns of power in 117 CE, he inaugurated ― at least at first ― an atmosphere of tolerance. He even talked of allowing the Jews to rebuilt the Temple, a proposal that was met with virulent opposition from the Hellenists. (2)

Why Hadrian changed his attitude to one of outright hostility toward the Jews remains a puzzle, but historian Paul Johnson in his History of the Jews speculates that he fell under the influence of the Roman historian Tacitus, who was then busy disseminating Greek smears against the Jews.

Tacitus and his circle were part of a group of Roman intellectuals who viewed themselves as inheritors of Greek culture. (Some Roman nobles actually considered themselves the literal descendants of the Greeks, though there is no historical basis for this myth.) It was fashionable among this group to take on all the trappings of Greek culture. Hating the Jews as representing the anti-thesis of Hellenism went with the territory. Thus influenced, Hadrian decided to spin around 180 degrees. Instead of letting the Jews rebuild, Hadrian formulated a plan to transform Jerusalem into a pagan city-state on the Greek polis model with a shrine to Jupiter on the site of the Jewish Temple.

Nothing could be worse in Jewish eyes than to take the holiest spot in the Jewish world and to put a temple to a Roman god on it. This was the ultimate affront. As bad as this was, the real cause of the revolt seems to have been Hadrian's attempt to follow in the footsteps of the Selucid Greek Empire 300 years earlier by trying to destroy Judaism. Specifically he targeted Sabbath observance, circumcision, the laws of family purity and the teaching of Torah. An attack against such fundamental commandments of Judaism was bound to trigger a revolt-which it did.

Bar Kochba

Jewish outrage at his actions led to one of the single greatest revolts of the Roman Era. Simon Bar Kosiba led the uprising, which began in full force in 132 CE.

For many years, historians did not write very much about Simon Bar Kosiba. But then, archeologists discovered some of his letters in Nahal Hever near the Dead Sea. If you go to the Israel Museum you can see these letters and they are absolutely fascinating. Some of them pertain to religious observance, because his army was a totally religious army. But they also contain a tremendous amount of historical facts. We learn that the Jews participating in the revolt were hiding out in caves. (These caves have also been found ― full of belongings of Bar Kosiba's people. The belongings ― pottery, shoes, etc. ― are on display in the Israel Museum, and the caves, though bare, are open to tourists.)

From the letters and other historical data, we learn that in 132 CE, Bar Kosiba organized a large guerilla army and succeeded in actually throwing the Romans out of Jerusalem and Israel and establishing, albeit for a very brief period, an independent Jewish state. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 97b) states that he established an independent kingdom that lasted for two and half years.

Bar Kosiba's success caused many to believe ― among them Rabbi Akiva, one of the wisest and holiest of Israel's rabbis ― that he could be the Messiah. He was nicknamed "Bar Kochba" or "Son of Star," an allusion to a verse in the Book of Numbers (24:17): "there shall come a star out of Jacob." This star is understood to refer to the Messiah.

Bar Kochba did not turn out to be the Messiah, and later the rabbis wrote that his real name was Bar Kosiva meaning "Son of a Lie" ― highlighting the fact that he was a false Messiah.

At the time, however, Bar Kochba ― who was a man of tremendous leadership abilities ― managed to unite the entire Jewish people around him. Jewish accounts describe him as a man of tremendous physical strength, who could uproot a tree while riding on a horse. This is probably an exaggeration, but he was a very special leader and undoubtedly had messianic potential, which is what Rabbi Akiva recognized in him.

Jewish sources list Bar Kochba's army at 100,000 men, but even if that is an overestimate and he had half that number, it was still a huge force.

United, the Jews were a force to be reckoned with. They overran the Romans, threw them out of the land of Israel, declared independence and even minted coins. That is a pretty unique event in the history of the Roman Empire.

Roman Response

Rome could not let this be. Such boldness had to be crushed and those responsible punished ― brutally and totally.

But the Jews were not easily overcome. Hadrian poured more and more troops into Israel to fight the Bar Kochba forces until the Romans had enlisted almost half of their entire army, as many as twelve of the twenty four legions of the empire may have been brought into Israel (three times as many as they had sent in to crush the Great Revolt 65 years earlier) to crush the revolt.

Heading this mammoth force was Rome's best general, Julius Severus. But even with all this might behind him, Julius Severus was afraid to meet the Jews in open battle. This fact alone is very telling, because the Romans were the masters of open battle. But they feared the Jews because they saw them as being willing to die for their faith ― a mentality the Romans thought suicidal. So what happened?

The Roman historian Dio Cassius tells us:

"Severus did not venture to attack his opponents in the open at any one point in view of their numbers and their desperation, but by intercepting small groups. Thanks to the numbers of soldiers and his officers, and by depriving them of food and shutting them up, he was able ― rather slowly to be sure, but with comparatively little danger ― to crush, exhaust and exterminate them. Very few of them in fact survived. Fifty of their most important outposts and 985 of their most famous villages were razed to the ground, and 580,000 men were slain in various raids and battles, and the number of those who perished by famine, disease and fire was past finding out.

"Thus nearly the whole of Judea was made desolate, a result of which the people had had forewarning before the war. For the tomb of Solomon, which the Jews regarded as an object of veneration, fell to pieces of itself and collapsed. And many wolves and hyenas rushed howling into the cities. Many Romans, however, perished in this war. Therefore, Hadrian, in writing to the Senate, did not employ the opening phrase commonly affected by emperors: 'If you and your children are in health it is well and I and my legions are in health.'"

This account of Deo Cassius ― even if he is exaggerating the numbers ― is very interesting. He tells us that the revolt was very bloody and very costly.

Indeed, the Romans lost an entire legion in battle. The 22nd Roman legion walked into an ambush and was slaughtered and never reconstituted. By the end of the revolt the Romans had to bring virtually half the army of the entire Roman Empire into Israel to crush the Jews.

Why Did the Jews Lose?

Apparently the Jews came very close to winning the war. Indeed, they did win for a time. Why did they lose in the end? The sages say they lost because they were too arrogant. Having tasted victory they adopted the attitude of , "by my strength and my valor I did this." (Deut. 8:17)

Bar Kochba too became arrogant. He saw himself winning. He heard people calling him the Messiah. Certainly, if Rabbi Akiva thought so, then he had the potential to be Israel's Ultimate Leader. He also became corrupted by his power and even beat his uncle, the great Rabbi Elazar HaModai, to death, having accepted false accusations that he was a Roman spy (3). Because of these faults he began to lose battles and was forced into retreat and guerrilla warfare.

In Judaism we are taught that while people must make the effort, it is God that wins the wars. It is not human strength nor human might that's doing it.

The Fall of Betar

Bar Kochba made his final stand in the city of Betar, which is to the southwest of Jerusalem. You can go visit it today, thought ancient Betar has not been excavated. The Talmud (in Gittin 57a) relates what happened in Betar:

They had the custom in Betar that when a baby boy was born they planted a cedar tree and for a baby girl they planted a pine tree, and when they would marry they would cut them down and make a marriage canopy of the branches. One day the daughter of Caesar was passing and the shaft of her litter broke. They cut down a cedar and brought it to her. The Jews of Betar fell upon them and beat them. They reported to Caesar that the Jews were rebelling and marched against them... they killed [Jewish] men, women and children until their blood flowed into the Mediterranean Sea... It was taught that for seven years the gentiles cultivated their vineyards with the blood of Israel without requiring manure for fertilization.

The city fell on the saddest day in the Jewish calendar ― the 9th of Av of the year 135, the same date as both the First and the Second Temple fell.

The Romans, in their fury, did not want to allow the Jewish bodies to be buried; they wanted to leave them out in the open to rot. According to tradition, the bodies lay in the open for months but did not rot. Today, when Jews say the Grace after Meals, Birkat HaMazon, they add a special blessing (ha tov u'mativ) as a way of thanking God for this act of mercy in Betar.

Exhausted, the Romans have had enough of the Jews who had caused them more manpower and material losses than any other people in the history of Empire. At the end of the Bar Kochba revolt, Hadrian decided that the way not to have another one is to cut off the Jews from connection to their beloved land.

1) The War of Kittos is barely mentioned in Jewish sources. The most extensive reference can be found in the Talmud, Ta'anit 18b.
2) See: Midrash, Breishit Rabbah 64:10
3) See: Talmud - Tanit 4:5

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About the Author

Rabbi Ken Spiro, originally from New Rochelle, NY, graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Russian Language and Literature and did graduate studies at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. He has rabbinic ordination from Aish Jerusalem and a Masters Degree in History from Vermont College of Norwich University. Rabbi Spiro is also a licensed tour guide by the Israel Ministry of Tourism. He has appeared on numerous radio and TV programs such as BBC, National Geographic Channel and The History Channel. He lives near Jerusalem with his wife and five children, where he works as a senior lecturer for Aish Jerusalem.

In one volume, Crash Course in Jewish History explores the 4,000 years of Jewish existence while answering the great questions: Why have the Jewish people been so unique, so impactful, yet so hated and so relentlessly persecuted?

Crash Course in Jewish History is not only comprehensive and readable, it is also entertaining and enlightening. Novices and scholars alike will find Crash Course in Jewish History to be thought-provoking and insightful, as well as a valuable and relevant guide to understanding the challenges we all face in the 21st century.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 17

(17)
Anonymous,
January 15, 2016 4:19 PM

name of the letter

Hi I understand that there was a letter sent to Rome requesting additional troops. had they troops not arrived and or the Jews held out for the winter the war would have been won.

I am searching for the name of that latter. I was wondering if you had the name.

thank you

Dori Borshiov

(16)
Anonymous,
April 8, 2014 5:31 AM

A wonderful resource

(15)
ashleigh,
December 14, 2012 7:23 PM

i really like this site

i think this site is a great help to students doing research .

(14)
Grace,
September 14, 2007 2:28 PM

About Time

How strange that a man could be thought of as the Missiah and then be named the son of a Lie.Bar Kochba was, after all a hero who lead the Jews bravely. He was learned in Torah and set up a Jewish State which lasted two years. As you mentioned Rabbi, even Rabbi Akiva believed Bar Kichba could be the Messiah. I suppose one must never believe the praise that people bestow on you. It must be difficult to remain a humble human being when you are called upon to do impossibly brave deeds.Our history reveals many defeats, yet we endure. As for a Messiah, I think we must concern ourselves with carrying out the conduct and beauty of Jewish life. What results from that will be evident.

(13)
Rita,
September 8, 2007 3:40 PM

Crash Course Of Jewish History

I love your "crash course in Jewish History - Thank you so much.

(12)
Miss Manna,
August 18, 2007 12:58 PM

Faith Strengthening!

A person like Rabbi Akiva, who lived on such a high spiritual level and who possessed an uncompromising dedication to Torah, could not be silenced by Roman decrees.

When the Romans learned that Rabbi Akiva was openly teaching Torah they decided to make a public example of his punishment.

They arrested him and probably took him to the hippodrome in Caesarea where on (or around) Yom Kippur in 136 CE, they staged a prolonged torture of the great sage. This horrible spectacle included having Rabbi Akiva's skin flayed with iron combs.

Rabbi Akiva, along with many other great Rabbis, went to his death, sanctifying God's name, with the words of the Shema on his lips: "Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One." (5) Rabbi Akiva's spirit exemplified the spirit of the sages who against the greatest odds sought to keep Judaism alive. We shall see next how they succeeded.He was truly a great Man and an example for us all! In doing research about Rabbi Akiva, its interesting to find out that he was a convert. and the love he displayed for our creator is one of the greatest examples for us all weather you are a convert or born a Jew, his example is one we should all immitate, PERFECT! Shalom!

(11)
Thomas Sebastian,
August 17, 2007 9:51 PM

A Big Thank You

Dear Respected Rabbi It is really saddening to know how the Holy Land was destoyed In fact it is really informative For I have not read much about this period of history And my cotention is confirmed again that it is the staunch faith of the Jews let some humane that is truely divine values to remain on this earth

(10)
howard yagerman,
August 14, 2007 4:10 PM

like it was yesterday

I appreciate Rabbi Spiro's history but what I find incredible(and I am also in the same boat)is that the people who comment on the history, write about it as contemporaries of the events.I believe that one of the aspects of Judaism that I truly love is the fact that it is a living entity.What happened to our forbears is palpable today.The joy and the sorrow is so fresh and sensual that the tears and laughter,the triumphs and the defeats are real and current.Thank you Rabbi Spiro for the gift you have bestowed.

(9)
Menashe Kaltmann,
August 12, 2007 9:32 PM

The Jewish Roman Wars

Excellent article R. Spiro and aish.com. Yasher Koach well done!

It is interesting how arrogance was the possible cause of Bar Kochba's down fall. I think there are stories how he didn't actively ask for G-d's help when in his later years he went out to war with the Romans.

Interestingly Bar Kochba is mentioned in Maimonides (Rambam's) Mishneh Torah Hilchot Melachim as someone who was "BeChezchat Moshiach" a candidate for being The Messiah not the actual Moshiach (Messiah). The actual Moshiach (Messiah) according to Maimonides (Rambam)is the Torah observant humble and righteous person a descendant of King David chosen by G-d that will gather all the Jews to The Land of Israel and then the Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem in its original place.

(8)
Daniel Friedman,
September 7, 2005 12:00 AM

regarding time between Beitar falling and burial

I have seen conflicting information regarding the time that elapsed between Beitar falling and the Romans allowing us to bury the dead. The most reliable that I have seen is that it was the 6 days between the 9th of Av and 15th of Av and not months as you indicated (or 15 years as I have seen elsewhere). It is still miraculous that the bodies did not decompose and were not eaten by wild animals during that time (remember - it was in the hot dessert in the summer).

(7)
Murray,
July 6, 2004 12:00 AM

mistake

In your section on the Bar Kochba revolt. It is said that the word genocide did not enter the worlds vocabulary until 1940-1945. Although after the Holocaust the events of 1940-1945 were deemed officially a genocide. The word was not cointed until after 1945 by Raphael Lemkin, a Holocaust survivor and pioneer of the UNGC (United Nations Genocide Convention). This was a slight error in an otherwise good article. Keeping you on your toes.

Murray Isaac Snider

(6)
Terry Solomon,
March 3, 2003 12:00 AM

Sensentive description of a tragis and uneccessary event.

Shalom,

I am enjoying your short history which is very fair and balanced. I am studing in Perth a Masters Degree in 1st Century Jewish -Christian relations (or lack of them), and have found some of your atricles on the early Christians and Sanhedrin of Palestine very balanced.

Your history and te way you present it is very balanced and gives even a non-Jew an excellent insight into the development of the Jewish race.

Regards,

Terry Solomon.
P.O. Box 649,
Gosnells 6990.
Western Australia.

(5)
Jack Lauber,
July 30, 2001 12:00 AM

excellent, historical overview

This bit of our history was compelling and emotional.

(4)
yt yap,
July 28, 2001 12:00 AM

Thanks, a great opportunity learn the Jewish History

(3)
Anonymous,
July 24, 2001 12:00 AM

This course is great! I can't wait to see the sequel, and the more details the better! Thanks.

(2)
Mark Shwayder,
July 23, 2001 12:00 AM

Give us more!

These summaries are great, I very much enjoy them. A more expanded version with more detail would be even better.

(1)
Thomas Nielson,
July 23, 2001 12:00 AM

I love this history, Thank you for your research and easy reading style.

I love this history. Thank you for your research and easy reading style. These histories help put everything in some sort of order. I've read much on my own but this adds a timeline to my efforts. Thank you again.

I've been striving to get more into spirituality. But it seems that every time I make some progress, I find myself slipping right back to where I started. I'm getting discouraged and feel like a failure. Can you help?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Spiritual slumps are a natural part of spiritual growth. There is a cycle that people go through when at times they feel closer to God and at times more distant. In the words of the Kabbalists, it is "two steps forward and one step back." So although you feel you are slipping, know that this is a natural process. The main thing is to look at your overall progress (over months or years) and be able to see how far you've come!

This is actually God's ingenious way of motivating us further. The sages compare this to teaching a baby how to walk. When the parent is holding on, the baby shrieks with delight and is under the illusion that he knows how to walk. Yet suddenly, when the parent lets go, the child panics, wobbles and may even fall.

At such times when we feel spiritually "down," that is often because God is letting go, giving us the great gift of independence. In some ways, these are the times when we can actually grow the most. For if we can move ourselves just a little bit forward, we truly acquire a level of sanctity that is ours forever.

Here is a practical tool to help pull you out of the doldrums. The Sefer HaChinuch speaks about a great principle in spiritual growth: "The external awakens the internal." This means that although we may not experience immediate feelings of closeness to God, eventually, by continuing to conduct ourselves in such a manner, this physical behavior will have an impact on our spiritual selves and will help us succeed. (A similar idea is discussed by psychologists who say: "Smile and you will feel happy.")

That is the power of Torah commandments. Even if we may not feel like giving charity or praying at this particular moment, by having a "mitzvah" obligation to do so, we are in a framework to become inspired. At that point we can infuse that act of charity or prayer with all the meaning and lift it can provide. But if we'd wait until being inspired, we might be waiting a very long time.

May the Almighty bless you with the clarity to see your progress, and may you do so with joy.

In 1940, a boatload 1,600 Jewish immigrants fleeing Hitler's ovens was denied entry into the port of Haifa; the British deported them to the island of Mauritius. At the time, the British had acceded to Arab demands and restricted Jewish immigration into Palestine. The urgent plight of European Jewry generated an "illegal" immigration movement, but the British were vigilant in denying entry. Some ships, such as the Struma, sunk and their hundreds of passengers killed.

If you seize too much, you are left with nothing. If you take less, you may retain it (Rosh Hashanah 4b).

Sometimes our appetites are insatiable; more accurately, we act as though they were insatiable. The Midrash states that a person may never be satisfied. "If he has one hundred, he wants two hundred. If he gets two hundred, he wants four hundred" (Koheles Rabbah 1:34). How often have we seen people whose insatiable desire for material wealth resulted in their losing everything, much like the gambler whose constant urge to win results in total loss.

People's bodies are finite, and their actual needs are limited. The endless pursuit for more wealth than they can use is nothing more than an elusive belief that they can live forever (Psalms 49:10).

The one part of us which is indeed infinite is our neshamah (soul), which, being of Divine origin, can crave and achieve infinity and eternity, and such craving is characteristic of spiritual growth.

How strange that we tend to give the body much more than it can possibly handle, and the neshamah so much less than it needs!